Double Ironman World Champion Jan Frodeno has in part appeared to apologise for the way he expressed his feelings towards Harry Wiltshire, claiming on 220’s Twitter page that “too many beers” may have been to blame for his strong words in an interview with Triathlete Magazine.
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Frodeno claimed Wiltshire was swimming on top of him throughout much of the 3.8km Kona swim leg, and aired his feelings publicly in the interview.
Frodeno begins by saying he had “a lot of lows” during the race, and that he “couldn’t break the swim group at the start which is thanks to Harry Wiltshire”, before looking directly at the camera as if to address Wiltshire and saying brazenly: “If you’re watching this, you’re a pr**k.”
Frodeno continued: “He basically swam on top of me and properly disturbed me intentionally the whole way back, that was a really unsportsmanlike move from him(sic).”
However while Frodeno said on Twitter he “still didn’t think what happened was cool”, he did apologise in part for his language, hinting at the strong possibility that alcohol could have played a part.
The to-and-fro on social media between Ironman World Champ Frodeno and Harry Wiltshire, who was first out of the water
The accusation will come as a shock to many pros and the British Triathlon community, in which Wiltshire is generally held in high regard; however, it’s not the first time the former ITU triathlete has been involved in dispute over swim tactics, as Wiltshire served a six-month ITU ban back in 2011 for “unsportsmanlike conduct”, after footage emerged that showed him swimming over the then ITU World Champion Javier Gomez of Spain.
Wiltshire congratulated Frodeno on his victory numerous times, and has received support from athletes, fans and sponsors defending his character. While the two have appeared to call a truce of some sorts the alleged incident opened up a wider debate into the refereeing of swim tactics on social media, and whether athletes have the right to complain about unintentional clashes on the swim.
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*Since this article was published, Harry has sent 220 this statement: “When you have just added your second Ironman World Champs to your Olympic Gold medal you can pretty much do anything you like. Jan didn’t need to publicly apologise, but he took the time to publicly say he overstepped the mark the day after a phenomenal race: one more reason why he is a worthy champion.”*
The 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship has been awarded to Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. Taking place from 1-2 September 2018, this will be the first time Ironman has held a World Championship event in Africa. The event will attract thousands of athletes from over 100 qualifying events across the world.
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Nelson Mandela Bay first hosted an Ironman event in 2004 and since 2015 has been the site of the Standard Bank Ironman African Championship.
Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman, says: “We are delighted to bring the Ironman 70.3 World Championship to Nelson Mandela Bay. Tens of thousands athletes have enjoyed racing in our events in South Africa over the past 12 years and we are excited to welcome some of the world’s most elite triathletes to the African continent.”
Athol Trollip, Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, says: “Nelson Mandela Bay is delighted to have been chosen to host the 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. We are proud of our excellent track record in hosting the Standard Bank Ironman African Championship.
“It’s on the strength of this, our climate, our beautiful beaches and our tourism potential that we are now in a position to host this prestigious international event. We look forward to welcoming the world’s athletes to the Bay.”
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The 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship is taking place from 9-10 September 2017 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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The Brownlee brothers have taken the world of triathlon by storm, with outstanding performances in competitions from the ITU World Championships to the Olympics. With so many achievements over the last decade, we take a look back at some of their best moments…
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Heroics at WTS Cozumel
Our top Brownlee moment has to be the emotional scene of Alistair Brownlee supporting his exhausted younger brother across the finishing line at this year’s World Triathlon Series final in Mexico. Not only was he giving Jonny the best chance of being awarded the world champion title, but also ensuring he could get medical assistance as quickly as possible.
Alistair said: “I have been in that position before, when it happened to me in London a few years ago, I remember being in second place and then coming around and someone telling me I was in tenth. I couldn’t remember all of those people passing me. So I swore that, literally if it happened to anyone I would help them across the line… I just had to do what was right in that situation.”
What an incredible moment to witness. Alistair’s actions showed the true meaning of sportsmanship and demonstrated what a great sport triathlon is.
Double Olympic Champion
At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Alistair Brownlee made history on the Copacabana by becoming the first athlete in history to defend his Olympic triathlon title. Continuing Great Britain’s winning form, Alistair’s win also marked Team GB’s 20th gold medal of Rio 2016.
The multiple world and European champion made his move over brother Jonny with 4km left of the run to cement his position as the greatest Olympic-distance athlete in history. Alistair’s relentless pace saw him hit the finish in an outstanding time of 1:45:01. Jonny followed 6secs afterwards and went one better than at London 2012 to take silver. Henri Schoeman of South Africa was third.
At the press conference at the Fort Copacabana Alistair said: “Four years is a long time until the Tokyo Olympics and we shouldn’t be thinking about it too much. We should be enjoying what we’ve managed to pull off today and be appreciative that the last three months of hard training paid off. When we crossed the line we looked at each other and said ‘We’ve done it’.”
Jonny dominates at ITU World Championship
In 2012, the ITU World Triathlon Stockholm was the race that clinched the world title for Jonny Brownlee. Following previous wins at San Diego and Madrid, achieving first place at Stockholm put Jonny in an ideal position to go for the overall series win.
In Stockholm Jonny was eighth out of the water and had a good transition that got him into a lead group on the bike. A group of eleven stayed together and made it to the second transition with a small lead over the chase pack, which contained Olympic silver medallist, Javier Gomez. Richard Varga was first out of transition and into his running, but Jonny soon passed him and moved into first position. He held his lead through to the finish, despite a storming effort by Javier Gomez to catch him, and finished in 1:34:18.
With such impressive performances under his belt, even slipping into second place in the Grand Final race didn’t stop Jonny from claiming the overall title. Hence, the year of the London Olympics saw Jonny succeed his brother Alistair as the ITU world champion. “It’s good to keep the title in the family, it’s pretty special. At the start of the year if someone had said year that Alistair would be Olympic champion, I’d be Olympic bronze medalist and I’d be world champion too I’d definitely take that”, said Jonny.
Alistair triumphs at WTS Leeds
To win the inaugural ITU World Triathlon Series race in Leeds, the brothers’ home city, was a pretty special moment for Alistair. A reported crowd of 100,000 spectators visited Roundhay Park to see the Brownlee brothers race on home soil and they certainly didn’t disappoint. After 1:49hrs of frenetic racing, Alistair achieved first place and Jonny followed him home in second.
After the swim, Slovakia’s Richard Varga led into T1 with the main contenders seconds behind. But Alistair’s speedy transition saw him exit first and fly out of the bike course start. Within minutes he was followed by Jonny, Australia’s Aaron Royle and France’s Aurelien Rapheal. By the end of the 40km bike route the quartet had a 1:07min lead over Javier Gomez and Richard Varga, and this gap only continued to increase. By the end of the first run lap, Ali had broken away from Jonny to create a 20sec gap and surged to victory with a 10km split time of 31:10.
Alistair said: “I can’t quite describe it really. I’ve been lucky to have had a lot of good performances in my time, but you know, wow, today, that was brilliant. And I think by far the best crowd on the World Series circuit, by a long way, not even close.”
Jonny thrives at Helvellyn Triathlon at young age
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In 2007 both Brownlee brothers conquered the Lake District’s Helvellyn Triathlon, a race that holds a reputation as one of the most challenging triathlons in the UK. The brutal course consists of a 1-mile swim in Ullswater lake, a tough 38-mile cycle and a 9-mile fell run up Helvellyn, England’s third highest peak. With some extremely tough climbs and rocky scrambles, this isn’t one to be undertaken lightly.
Although Jonny was too young to take part in 2007, his father was happy for him to go around with a timing chip as a training run. He managed to complete the race in a brilliant time of 3:45:47, slotting in between the fifth and sixth finishers. Older brother Alistair won it in 3:28:14 and set a new course record, which would stand for four years.
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You can find Helvellyn Triathlon race tips here.
This weekend is thoroughly exciting within the triathlon world, with over 2,300 athletes descending upon Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for the Ironman World Championship on 8 October.
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The event is now in its 38th year and is undoubtedly the most iconic one-day endurance event in the world. Great Britain has 124 athletes competing this weekend.
This time round, the largest international athlete field in Ironman history will toe the line, representing 64 countries and six continents. Athletes aged between 19 and 83 have earned their championship opportunity by finishing among the best at one of more than 40 qualifying Ironman events worldwide.
Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman, says: “The inspiration generated by not only our amazing professional athletes but also our age-groupers, shows why the Ironman World Championship continues to be the pinnacle event of the endurance world.
“Over 2,300 of the world’s best athletes have traveled to this prestigious island to showcase their unwavering strength, passion and commitment while proving that truly ‘ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.’”
The United States accounts for a third of registrants this year, with 804 competitors. Athletes from all 50 U.S. states are represented, with the most coming from California (153), Colorado (51) and Hawaii itself (49).
The competitive fields should provide for an exciting race with Ironman World Champions Jan Frodeno of Germany and Daniela Ryf of Switzerland returning to defend their titles. Nine professional athletes will represent Great Britain including Lucy Gossage, Tim Don, Joe Skipper, David McNamee and Leanda Cave.
Ironman World Champs: Top 10 women’s predictions
Ironman World Champs: Top 10 Men’s Predictions
Racing alongside the talented pro field is an inspiring group of age-group athletes including courageous father-and-son team Jeff and Johnny Agar, Iran’s first female Ironman triathlete Shirin Gerami and 83-year-old Hiromu Inada from Japan who could become the oldest competitor to ever cross the Ironman World Championship finish line.
A total of 115 age-group athletes from Great Britain will be taking part, including Reece Barclay, who qualified by winning the 18-24 age category at the 2015 Ironman UK. Our oldest competitor is Linda Ashmore, who will be taking part in the F70-74 category. With too many names to mention individually here, we can be sure to expect some incredible stories from this year’s Championship race.
Here are five extra stats on this year’s Kona competitors:
– 70% (1,683 athletes) are male, while 30% (718 athletes) are female – this marks the largest ever female field at the IRONMAN World Championship.
– 43 is the average age of registrants this year.
– 100 race participants (57 males, 43 females), or four percent of the total field, are professional athletes.
Hiromu Inada (Yachiyo, Chiba, Japan) is the oldest participant at 83, while Hiraya Shun (Asahi City, Chiba, Japan) is the youngest at 19.
– Eight athletes will be celebrating their birthday on race day.
For full coverage of the race, you can watch the 2016 Ironman World Championship live here.
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You can find the full start list for Kona here
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Jan Frodeno has won the 2016 Ironman World Championship title in Kona, Hawaii, breaking free from Sebastian Kienle at 15km on the run to successfully defend his title. Frodeno’s finish was 8:06:30, just short of breaking Craig Alexander’s 8:03:56 course record.
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The 40th edition of the Ironman World Championships started with many course and national records under threat. Germany’s Jan Frodeno, having broken the iron-distance world record at Challenge Roth in July, would be aiming to go sub-8hr in Kona and break Craig Alexander’s 2011 course record.
For the Brits, meanwhile, Spencer Smith’s long-standing Kona record of 5th was the goal, with David McNamee, Joe Skipper and Tim Don all in the mix following encouraging performances at Hawaii in 2015.
Cut to 6:25am Hawaii-time and 2,300 of the world’s greatest long-course athletes would enter the water. The 3.8km swim started fast and furiously, with super-swimmer Andy Potts of the USA and hot favourite Frodeno making a break early on. At 15mins in and some clear splits had formed with, as expected, 2014 winner Sebastian Kienle (GER) unable to stay with the top group.
British athletes Harry Wiltshire, Don and McNamee all stayed close to the leaders, and it was Wiltshire who made a surge to the front. Overtaking Potts and Frodeno in a furious sprint to the pontoon (no doubt pleasing his wetsuit sponsors, Huub) he entered T2 in 48mins flat, with a large group following close behind.
The standings after the 3.8km swim, with Harry Wiltshire claiming the bragging rights
On the bike course the leader changed frequently early on, and 30km in the tussling got too close for comfort according to the race referees: serial Kona podium athlete Andreas Raelert (GER) and 2013 winner Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) were both forced to serve a 5min penalty for drafting. Frodeno measured his effort through the first half of the bike, never hitting the front but consistently staying within the top 5.
Around 60 miles into the bike, some of the strong bikers who emerged later out of the water began to creep up, with Kienle hitting the front around 70 miles in. Brit Skipper made up a lot of time after a disappointing swim, and was 9mins down on the leaders with 75 miles gone, closing in on Don. David McNamee, who ran the fastest marathon in Kona in 2015, was the leading Brit at 75 miles in 27th place.
Coming into T2, and Kienle had the lead after a 4:23:55 split but Frodeno exited transition first and the two were soon running shoulder-to-shoulder, exchanging some chat and bringing up memories of the Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen in 1989, and the battle between Chris McCormack and Andreas Raelert in 2010. The Brits were off the pace, with McNamee the only realistic top 10 contender after T2. Will Clarke had suffered a penalty, Skipper was adrift after a 4:49:58 bike split and Don was MIA.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s M35-39 age-grouper Bryan McCrystal was big news, posting a bike split of 4:29:14 (just 14secs slower than Frodeno’s) to lead the age-group field after T2.
But the focus soon returned to the titanic German clash at the front, with Frodeno dropping Kienle on Palani Hill at 15km and that gap 1:30mins by halfway through the run. Boecherer was 3rd 4:40mins back, creating the chance for a Germanic clean sweep of the podium, the first since Germany achieved the feat in 1997.
After 7hrs of racing, Frodo’s lead would be 2:30mins over Kienle and that long, looping stride looked indestructible. Continuing the German dominance was newcomer Patrick Lange, who was moving up the field with a blistering run speed that threatened Mark Allen’s run course record.
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With a mile to go and Frodeno was still looking strong but the course record was just out of sight, with Frodeno breaking the tape in 8:06:30. Kienle and Lange would ensure a German cleansweep of the men’s podium, with Lange breaking Allen’s course record with a 2:39hr split on his Kona debut.
Following her victory at July’s Challenge Roth, Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf has confirmed her position as the greatest long-distance triathlete on the planet today by taking the Ironman World Championship title in dominant fashion. The Swiss finished in 8:46hr to break Mirinda Carfrae’s Kona course record by over 5mins.
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The 3.8km pro women’s swim followed a similar pattern to the men’s, with a fast pace set early on and a large group forming at the front. Brit Jodie Swallow surged to the front halfway through, with last year’s winner Daniela Ryf (SUI) keeping up with the leaders. It was veteran American Meredith Kessler who would emerge from the water first, with a huge string of athletes following her off the pontoon. 2012 champion Leanda Cave was out in second place.
On the bike, a group of 13 women were strung out along the course early on, with Kessler and Cave mixing it up at the front. This wasn’t to last long, as Daniela Ryf hit the front 20 miles in and stayed there – the only athlete to follow was Anja Beranek (GER) and the two of them continued to build their lead throughout the bike leg.
With multiple champ and formidable runner Mirinda Carfrae 15mins back, Ryf powered on and, at the 75 mile mark, she made a gap on Beranek and moved 40 secs clear. In her final Kona race before retirement, Mary Beth Ellis (USA) in 3rd was a further 3mins back.
Coming into T2 and Ryf was in her own post code, effortlessly chewing up the tarmac to create a 8mins lead over Beranek before the run. That advantage was 22:15mins over Carfrae, and the title was Ryf’s to lose.
And lose it she wouldn’t, breaking the tape in 8:46hr. The time was 5mins faster than Carfrae’s course record, with the win confirming Ryf’s position as the greatest long-course female athlete on the planet who, at just 29, still has plenty of records to break and titles to take.
More reaction and age-group results to come from Hawaii…
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The organisers of the popular Windsor Triathlon and the BallBuster Duathlon, Human Race Events, have been bought by Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O), owner of the world renowned Le Tour de France. Other events and sportives organised by A.S.O include Paris Marathon and L’Etape du Tour.
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The purchase means Human Race Events will be able to offer its participants access to many of the sold-out events organised by A.S.O. across the world.
These two organisations have been working together since 2015, when they organised the Tour de Yorkshire Ride, the public sportive that formed part of Le Tour de France Grand Depart legacy.
Together they also created L’Etape London by Le Tour de France as well as re-energise the famous Dragon Ride, which has become part of the global L’Etape Series.
Human Race is well known for giving amateur competitors a chance to compete alongside some of the country’s top athletes such as Chris Froome, Victoria Pendleton and 220 favourite Chrissie Wellington.
Yann Le Moenner, Managing Director of A.S.O. said: “The relations forged with Human Race’s teams and the initial projects put together with enthusiasm and efficiency convinced both sides of the possibility of pooling our skills. The challenges that we will be able to meet thanks to this merger are proposing more events to cycling, triathlon and running enthusiasts, inventing new formats and spreading our values in the United Kingdom”.
Nick Rusling, CEO of Human Race: “We developed the business from nothing, twenty six years ago, to now delivering 30 events alongside 22 colleagues and hundreds of incredible event crew and volunteers. Our passion for organising exceptional mass sport event experiences has seen 350,000 customers cross a finish line with us in that time.
“To be able to continue this journey alongside our new colleagues at A.S.O. is incredibly exciting as they are an exceptional business. Having worked closely with them already for two years, I am confident our beliefs and values are perfectly matched and the participants will be in for a treat with new and improved events in the future.”
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To read Nick’s exclusive interview with 220 about what it means for the future click here
220: You already organise some Tour de France-themed single day bike races, but what impact will the buyout have on your multisport events? Can we expect to see Human Race expand into long-distance triathlon and duathlon events?
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Nick Rusling: Good question. Although ASO don’t organise triathlons currently, with Human Race in the ASO family they’ve just acquired 26 years of triathlon experience. We still have people working on those events who started in 1990. ASO love triathlon and our calendar of events was a key part of why they wanted to buy Human Race. We added a middle-distance race at the Woburn Abbey Triathlon this year also (the WoBurner). We’ve begun long-term planning conversations already about what the future can hold for us together and it’s a case of watch this space in terms of triathlon and duathlon.
The popularity of duathlon in France eclipses the UK’s love for the sport. Does this represent a major opportunity for the growth of run/bike/run events in the UK?
I’m not so sure. I was part of launching the London Duathlon in 2007 and had high hopes for the sport as a great way to bridge the gap – especially as so many people don’t fancy the swim. Quite simply, duathlon isn’t as sexy or as well known as triathlon. It still needs defining to the audience, which is a tough place to start in promoting an event. This is a shame as our Ballbuster event has stood the test of time after 26 years and it’s a fantastic sport.
AOS’ flagship events have major television coverage and productions. Can we expect to see increased TV exposure of your multisport events?
It’s definitely an area to explore. We started working with Bike Channel across all our sportives this year. They followed the events, getting under the skin of the participants and personalities, despite the fact it isn’t a race. They want to explore something similar with triathlon also. This is also an area of expertise where we aren’t specialists, so we very much hope to be able to learn. If we can bring some of that magic to multisport then we’d love to.
Where does your remit with ASO extend to in terms of locations? Will you have a pure UK focus or can we expect a HR extension into European and worldwide events?
We’ll be focused as a team on the UK, however, especially with our triathlon history and expertise, we’ll be hoping to get stuck into other global opportunities. The main focus, with such an exciting and competitive landscape in the UK, is to get our events right and brimming with new ideas and improved experiences in the UK. For example, we launched a new event with Jessica Ennis-Hill that’s based around running with music called VitalityMove.
We’d love to see a unique multi-day, multi-stage triathlon event along the lines of the Tour of Britain. Is that something that may be explored?
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Great idea – we should team up with 220 perhaps. Why not? It’s this type of creativity that participants are demanding and all events need. We also know people want tougher challenges all the time, plus regions want their landscape to be showcased.
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This year’s Ironman Hawaii had everything you could possibly want from a World Championship; drama from the outset, broken records and great racing. Daniela Ryf’s record breaking performance that saw her take victory for the second year running proved her to be one of the greatest female triathletes ever, while Iron-distance record holder Jan Frodeno’s victory rarely looked in doubt.
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Photographs by Paul Phillips, www.competitiveimage.us
INSPIRING DUO: Jeff Agar pulls his son, Johnny, who suffers with cerebral palsy, along the bike course © Tom Pentington/Getty Images for IRONMAN
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THE LONG ROAD HOME: Elite male athletes make their way along the iconic 112-mile bike course, battling rough winds and soaring temperatures as they go. © Tom Pentington/Getty Images for IRONMAN
POLITICAL FiINISH: The former Prime Minister of Finland, Alexander Stubb, celebrates finishing © Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images for IRONMAN
ON THE LONESOME SIDE: Out on their own, underan unforgiving and relentless sun and surrounded barren lava fields, a lone athlete makes his way along the 112-mile bike course. © Tom Pentington/Getty Images for IRONMAN
EXTREME AERODYNAMICS: German athlete Boris Stein maximises aerodynamics as he cycles. © Tom Pentington/Getty Images for IRONMAN)
ROAD OF LOVE: Messages of encouragement for the athletes as they pound the hot pavement on the marathon course. © Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images for IRONMAN
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FINISH LINE: After a phenomenal marathon that saw him beat Mark Allen’s run course record of 37 years, Patrick Lange of Germany takes 3rd place and completes the all-German podium. © Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images for IRONMAN